Philadelphia 76ers: 3 potential trade packages for P.J. Tucker

Victor Oladipo and P.J. Tucker for Danny Green, Tyrese Maxey, Terrance Ferguson, a 2021 Philadelphia 76ers first-round pick, and two future second-round picks.

Trading a marginal player for P.J. Tucker or packaging him with Eric Gordon for Danny Green’s contract and a player like Furkan Korkmaz unquestionably makes the Philadelphia 76ers a better team, but neither presents the level of star power that some fans have been clamoring with since Daryl Morey took over for Elton Brand as the team’s top exec.

With that being said, there is one star player on the Rockets’ roster who is very much available via trade and could give the Sixers the sort of 20 points per game boost they’ve been looking to add to their starting five for some time now: Victor Oladipo.

Now the idea of trading for Oladipo isn’t a new one. Heck, I’ve already done a deep dive on why the move makes sense from a playing style/availability standpoint which you can read here, but the idea of landing him Oladipo alongside Tucker could be just what the doctor ordered to get the Sixers where they need to be in 2021 and beyond.

How so? Well, allow me to elaborate.

Oladipo is a two-way player with experience playing both on and off the ball on an expiring contract. He was offered an extension from the Rockets worth around $45.2 million over two years but reportedly turned it down out of a desire to play for a contender, specifically the Miami Heat.

Is Philly Miami? No, our fair city has far colder winters and far higher state taxes, but from a winning standpoint, you won’t find an Eastern Conference organization better situated to succeed for the foreseeable future than the Sixers.

Assuming they get credible info that Oladipo would consider signing a long-term extension with the Sixers, landing his services alongside Tucker, even if it cost their first-round pick in 2021, their first-round pick in 2020 (Tyrese Maxey), a pair of second-round picks, and the required cap considerations to make the deal legal could give Morey the requisite firepower needed to take shots at the best teams in the NBA regardless of who they face in the playoffs.

For a team like the Sixers looking to maximize the championship windows of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, that sort of minor mortgage of the future becomes fairly low-stakes in the grand scheme of things, especially if Isaiah Joe, Rayton Tucker, and “BBall” Paul Reed can develop into a formidable bench unit.

Is that sort of all-in move risky? Most definitely. If Oladipo opted to leave in free agency, the Sixers’ future suddenly looks a whole lot less exciting, but even if that happens, they aren’t suddenly transformed from the 2021 Brooklyn Nets into the 2010 Brooklyn Nets. Some risk is required to make any deal happen, and this move may just be too good to pass up, as players of Oladipo’s caliber don’t become available every year at the deadline.

What do you think? If the Philadelphia 76ers opt to trade for P.J. Tucker, would you like it to be a small-time deal, or have his contract packaged alongside a medium-tier scorer like Eric Gordon or a two-time All-Star like Victor Oladipo? Or would you instead wait it out and hope to sign Tucker or someone similar on the buyout market? Let us know in the comments section below.